棗 natsume (tea caddy), unknown maker from Japan

Teaching Gallery Label: "The Tea Ceremony," Apr-2014, Kris Imants Ercums Natsume are small containers for tea powder (matcha) used to prepare thin tea (usucha), the style of tea served in the second half of a formal tea ceremony or by itself during a more informal gathering. They are also called usuki and usually are made of lacquerware decorated with gold leaf as in this example. Exhibition Label: Asian Gallery, Summer 2003, Youmi Efurd One of the greatest technical achievements of artists in East Asia has been lacquer ware. The preserving and protective properties of lacquer tree sap were discovered at least as early as the Shang dynasty (ca. 1830-1027 BCE) in China and perhaps by the third century BCE in Japan. Throughout the following centuries a great variety of other techniques of lacquer decoration were perfected. They range from the application of many layers of variously colored lacquers that might be carved, incised, or inlaid to the application of a single layer of transparent lacquer simply to enhance the beauty of the wood grain for an otherwise unadorned object.